Headrest for gunners&#39; chairs



c. D. KNowLToN 2,570,457

Oct. 9, 1951 HEADREST FOR GUNNERS CHAIRS Original Filed Nov. 30, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3% 1 i 1' Lf l//,l Q f k l 5% il va Vf A |11 l 5 Ui i V1 q Il 5 tjqc- S; G ,2 a :4s 4| l l.

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C. D. KNOWLTON HEADREST FOR GUNNERS CHAIRS Original Filed Nov. 30, 1944 Oct. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B neg Patented Oct. 9, 1951 HpADaEs'r Fon GUNNJERS CHAIRS Cutler D. Knowlton, Rockport, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application November 30, 1944, Serial No. 565,939. Divided and this application ctobcr 24, 1945, Serial No. 624,302

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to head-rests for chairs, it being particularly concerned with the provision of a support for the head of the operator of a gun.

An object of my invention is to enable the gunner, situated, for example, on a chair in a rotatable turret, `conveniently and comfortably to maintain his eye in the correct relation to the gun-sight as the turret turns. To this end, the chair preferably includes a rest, which furnishes such a support for the gunners head that his eye is best located With respect to the sight, and yet will give comfort while he is not called upon to direct the fire of the gun. An arm or arms are pivoted at the chair-back and have means for maintaining them in different angular positions, and the head-rest may be secured in different positions upon the arms. This positioning of the head-rest on the arms is preferably both angularly and vertically, or longitudinally of the arms. It may therefore readily be adapted to the physical characteristics of the gunner.

The present application is a division of that led in my name in the United States Patent Ofce on November 30, 1944, and bearing the Serial No. 565,939, now Patent No. 2,457,242, granted December 28, 1948. A second division having the same filing date as the present application relates to gun-charging mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one of the several :possible embodiments of my invention,

Fig. 1 is an enlarged broken side elevation of the head-rest and the upper portion of the chair on which it is mounted; and

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the head-rest and portions of the chair.

A rotatable drum T, having a peripheral wall 58 and side walls 60 and furnishing the body of a turret, has mounted to move with it a gun indicated at G. The re of the gun is directed with the aid of a sight S mounted within an opening through an extension 62 from the wall 53. In the upper portion of the extension is yan opening, which may be closed -by doors (not shown) manipulated through handles 69. When the doors are thrown back, an opening is provided through which the gunner may scan for his target.

The gunner occupies a chair C, which is arranged for ready movement between two positions, respectively for scanning yand firing.

That the gunners head may be best disposed with relation to the sight S, an adjustable headrest 222 is associated with the chair C. Rotatable in bearings upon a bracket |82 projecting from one of the walls 50 is a shaft 224, to which are secured two arms 226 (only one illustrated), each of which has an upward extension 228 containing two longitudinal slots 230. Projecting rearwardly from each side of the head-rest is a wall 232, in which are an upper opening 234 and -a lower slot 235, formed as an arc about said opening. The walls are secured to the arm-extensions by bolts 238, 23B, passing, respectively, through the upper slot 230 and the opening 234 and the lower slot 230 and the slot 235. It will be seen that, by shifting the rest-Walls upon the arm-extensions, both the height of the rest and its angle with respect to the bracket 182 may be varied and then maintained by tightening the bolts. The rest may thus be adapted to meet the needs of the gunner. To fplace the eye of the gunner in the best relation to the sight S, the rest would be too far forward from its normal or scanning relation, when arranged for firing, for comfort at other times. To permit the angle of the rest to be altered quickly and maintained as desired, there is fastened on the shaft 224 an arm 240, situated adjacent to one of the turret-walls 60. Extending rearwardly from the upper end of the arm is a toothed segment 242. A tension-spring 244, joining the segment to the wall, tends to draw the rest forward to an angle limited by the engagement of an extension 245 from the arm with the bracket |82. A latching lever 246, fulcrumed upon a bracket 248 fixed to the turretwall, has a toothed end forced into engagement with the teeth of the segment by an expansionspring 250 interposed between the bracket and the lever. A handle 252 on the forward end of the lever permits the gunner to free the segment, and then, by backward pressure of his head or the forward pull of the spring, cause or allow the rest to assume the most convenient position for the existing conditions.

Having described the'invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

The -combination with a chair-back, of a shaft rotatable thereat, two arms fixed to the shaft, a head-rest, slot-andscrew connections for securing the head-rest to the arms in different positions, a spring by which the head-rest is urged forward about the axis of the shaft, a third arm fast upon the shaft and having a series of teeth, and a latch for retaining engagement with the teeth.

CUTLER D. KNOWLTON.

(References on following page) 3 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date Re. 13,094 Undeland Mar. 15, 1910 296,779 Plummer Apr. 15, 1884 338,468 Bigger Mar. 23, 1886 367,512 Garber et al Aug. 2, 1887 10 827,830 Toles Aug. '7, 1906 Number Name Date Poll June 11, 1912 Reed Mar. 16, 1920 Katz Oct. 16, 1923 Oliver Feb. 18, 1930 Roche June 7, 1932 Tursi Oct. 16, 1934 Glasgow June 23, 1936 Tonning Apr. 11, 1939 Berg Jan. 1, 1946 Corte May 21, 1946 

